Friday, February 22, 2013

Concealer Wars

Today we are starting our concealer series! We're kind of obsessed with finding the perfect one. To kick things off, we are putting two concealer sticks against each other, one high-end and the other drugstore. We got Urban Decay’s 24/7 Concealer Stick versus Revlon’s PhotoReady Concealer. Let’s take a look.

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer

(in Medium)$9-10, 0.11oz/3.2g Available in most drugstores

This concealer is super creamy, medium coverage, and blends out like a dream. It’s oil free and fragrance free. It’s very yellow, which works for my skin tone and also helps to combat redness, but it might be too yellow for some (at least in the medium shade). There isn’t a huge range of shade options on the darker end, but there is a decent selection for light to tan complexions. Tip: Buy a concealer that's actually your shade, even if you're tempted to go lighter. I bought it in medium, but I easily could’ve gone to medium deep.

Packaging issues...

I love this concealer. I carry it around in my purse, I’ve almost used it up, and I’m probably going to repurchase it. It’s not amazing for covering pigmentation, which is my main issue, but it makes your skin look flawless. Whenever I use this stuff I look like I’m in soft focus! I like to use this just around my T-zone when I don’t feel like wearing a full face of foundation--actually, I never wear a full face of foundation, so you can see why I use this stuff so much! It evens out my skin tone and makes my skin look really smooth, without settling into any pores. I was out at dinner once with a friend, wearing this concealer, and our waitress actually commented on how soft and smooth my skin looked. That sealed the deal for me.So, a few other points. It’s fairly long-lasting, especially if you set it with powder. I don’t use this under my eyes because I prefer to use an more liquid-y concealer there, and I really need a peach color corrector to get rid of my dark circles. But if your dark circles aren’t too bad, and if you’re more fair, this should get the job done without too much creasing. Same deal with dark spots; I need a little more coverage. But this does get rid of redness. I also had some packaging issues, as you can see in the picture. Part of the bottom part came off, though the product still worked fine. The concealer twists out of the package like lipstick, and it ended up all smooshed in the cap, but I’m not sure if that’s just because I did something stupid.

In any case, if you’re looking for a product that will get rid of redness, even out your skintone, give a flawless finish, and cover up not-too-intense dark circles and pigmentation, this is it.

-Vanessa

*****

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil
$19.00 0.12 ozAvailable at Sephora, Ulta, and UrbanDecay.comThis concealer is a little more creamy than the Revlon one, which is not a good thing if you have oily skin (like we do). When you swatch it, it has a liquid-like sheen and blends amazingly but because of its creaminess, it has pretty weak staying power even when setting it with a powder. It has medium to full coverage, but can look cakey if layered too much. It definitely covers redness which is why I like it around my nose. It covers my scars and blemishes pretty well, but it fades too quickly for my taste. It also works around dark circles, but because of the creaminess, it has a tendency to crease.

UD says it is formulated without:Sulfates, Synthetic Fragrances,Synthetic Dye, Petrochemicals, Phthalates,GMOs,TriclosanBUT it does have a paraben

I have the NSA shade which is described as a "deep beige", but the shades run light. Since I bought this during the summer, it’s too dark for me right now. There are 8 shades in this concealer, which is a so-so selection. The undertones vary quite a bit, so I think this is where it takes a point from the Revlon one. UD uses words like neutral, orange, red, and beige to describe the colors. The biggest struggle with this concealer is that it’s a chubby pencil that needs to be sharpen. While this can be more hygienic since you sharpen away the gross bacteria-filled top layer, you also waste product. And at it’s $19 tag, you don’t really want to waste it. With twist ups like Revlon, you can sanitize the exposed concealer with alcohol and not have to waste the product. It’s important to have clean concealers because this is going directly over your blemishes. If you don't sanitize, you will be putting bacteria directly over your already troubled pores.

I recommend this product if you don’t need long time coverage, have normal to dry skin, and have a specific undertone not found at the drugstores.

-Angie

*****

Final Verdict: If you’re looking for a portable concealer with medium coverage and want to save money, go for the Revlon one. But if you’re in need of a specific tone that the drugstore doesn’t carry, check out the 24/7 concealer pencil.